smith



(No Model.) 2' Sheets-Sheet 1.

R. 0. SMITH.

DEVICE FOR ELECTRIC ELEVATORS.

N0.'466,447. Patented Jan. 5-, 1892.

WITNESSES IJV'VEJV'TOR Attorney m.

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

k R. 0. SMITH.

DEVIOE FOR ELECTRIC ELEVATORS.

No. 466,447. "Patented Jan. 5, 1892.

WITNESSES INVENTOR I a. 42 M w 4 9 Y flttorne yu'.

UNITED STATES PATENT OrEIcE.

RUDOLPH 0. SMITH, OF YONKERS, ASSIGNOR TO OTIS BROTHERS & COMPANY, OFNEW YORK, N. Y.

DEVICE FOR ELECTRIC ELEVATORS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 466,447, dated January5, 1892. Application filed March 17,1891. 1 Serial No. 385,397- (Nomodel.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, RUDOLPH 0. SMITH, a citizen of the United States,residing at Yonkers, Westchester county,State of New York, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Devices for Electric Elevators,of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to switch devices for electric elevators, and hasfor its object to provide means whereby, when the switch is turned todisconnect or break the circuit and render the apparatus inoperative, itmay be locked in position against accidental displacement and theoperator in the cage may be sure that the switch is in the properposition, so that the apparatus can be left with safety; and to theseends my invention consists in a construction and arrangement of parts,substantially as more particularly pointed out hereinafter.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is an enlarged sideview of portions of an electric elevator-operating device suffi cient todisclose my invention. Fig. 2 is a plan view, partly in section, showingthe means of locking the switch Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic view showing amodification; and Fig. 4 is a general View of a well-known type ofelectric elevators, showing my invention applied thereto.

In the large and growing use of elevators which are operated byelectricity, and especially of that class wherein the electric motorreceives its current from a distribution-line and in which this line isconnected or disconnected to the motor by means of a switch device underthe control of the operator in the car or carriage of the elevator, itis desirable that every precaution should be taken to prevent accidentsand to insure the correct and safe running of the elevator apparatus. Mypresent invention relates more particularly to this class of elevatorsin which a switch device controlling the current energizing the electricmotor for operating the elevator is under the control of the operator inthe carriage through the medium of the ordinary hand-rope, and while Ihave described and illustrated the preferred embodiment of 50 myinvention in this connection it will be understood that the details ofconstruction and arrangement may be varied by those skilled in the artto suit the exigencies of any particular case without departingmaterially from the principles of my invention.

' In the drawings, A represents the cage of the elevator, and B thehoisting-drum around which the rope B, connected to the elevator,passes, while 0 is the hand-rope or other equivalent device passingthrough the car in the ordinary manner, and around the shipper-wheel N,which carries a pinion O, engaging the segment M, which is connected tothe shipper-bar a. In this instance the electric motor D is mounted onthe base sustaining the drum, and is connected in the ordinary way tooperate-the same, and a switch device S, which may be of any desiredconstruction, and it is indicated herein in a conventional manner toshow a starting, stopping, and reversing switch, is also mounted on thebase and connected with the electric circuit E. This switch device showsan arm or brush 19, arranged to close the circuits through the switch ina manner well understood, and when it is moved to the position indicatedin the drawings in aswitch of the kind stated the circuit is absolutelybroken, so that no current can pass through the switch and thence to themotor, and while this is a preferred arrangement of switch it is evidentthat any other wellknown and equivalent form of switch may be used inwhich it is desired to maintain the brush or switch-arm normally in anystated or fixed position. In the present instance this switch-arm ,p ismounted on a shaft or bearing which is provided with a pinion g,

meshing into a segment on the segmental lever 1), and by means of whichthe switch-arm is moved to the desired position to regulate the passageof the current through the motor. This segmental lever is connected tobe operated by the shipper-bar, which is moved in the manner beforestated, by means of the hand-rope, to start, stop, and reverse themotor, and thereby raise or lower or hold stationary the elevator-car.In my present arrangement I connect this segmental lever to theshipper-bar through the medium of springs. Thus I interpose the spring 6a between the free end of the segmental lever and the shipper-bar, thelatter being provided with lugs or supports f, against which the springsbear. These springs are preferably of so ch a strength and resiliencythat under ordinary conditions the segmental lever will be moved inaccordance with the movements of the shipper-bar, but if any obstructionor hinderance to the movements of the segmental lever occurs will becomecompressed to a greater or less extent before the lever is operated.

In order to secure the switch-arm or brush p in its normal position,which in the present instance is with the dead-break of the circuit, Iprovide some suitable locking device, and while this may be variouslyconstructed I have shown herein a simple pawl c, normally under thestress of a spring cl, which engages a notch in a stationary piece orbar h, secured to the frame-work of the device, and which thus maintainsthe brush in this position until the locking device is released. Variousways of releasing this locking device may be adopted; but I haveillustrated the shipper-bar a as provided with a recess 1', havin ginclined sides which engage the extension 0 of the pawl and lift it outof the notch in the bar It.

With this construction the operation of the parts will be readilyunderstood. The parts being in the position shown in the drawings, theoperator pulling the hand-rope p to start the engine in the desireddirection will move the shipper-bar a, and as the segmental lever 19 islocked the spring ewill be compressed and require more than ordinaryforce or pull upon the hand-rope to move the shipper-bar; but as soon asthe bar has moved sufficiently to cause the incline of the notcht'therein to raise the pawl and unlock the segmental lever the lever willbe operated freely to control the circuit, and, as before stated, thesprings 6 will maintain the lever in its normal relation to theshipper-bar throughout its movement, and it will move freely in harmonywith the movements of the bar. Vhen, however, the elevator is stopped,or for any other reason it is desired to move the switch-arm into anyparticular position and leave it there, the locking device beingproperly arranged, the lever will become locked and require extra forceto move it from this locked position, and the operator in the carriagewill readily understand from the feel of the rope or the extra forcerequired that the switch-arm is in the proper position and can leave theelevator with the assurance that everything is correctly arranged and inposition to leave with safety.

The same general construction and arrangement of parts may be carriedout by electrical means instead of mechanical. Thus in Fig. 3 I haveillustrated one embodiment of the invention, wherein the shipper-bar asupports the coils of the solenoid m on either side of the switch-leverb, and mounted on the switch-lever Z2 is the core 12, extending oneither side thereof and into the coils of the solenoid. The coils of thesolenoid may be connected in the main circuit of the motor or in aseparate circuit, the latter being indicated for convenience, and theterminals are connected by a flexible conductor, as w, or by a brush y,bearing on an extended contact m, so that the coils of the solenoid arein circuit whatever may be the position of the shipper-bar. Theshipper-bar is also preferably provided with studs 00 on either side ofthe switch-lever b, which while allowing a certain freedom of movementor backlash, so to speak, between the shipper-bar and the lever willinsure the lever being moved when the shipper-bar has moved a certainextent. The pawl '0, attached to the segmental lever, is in thisinstance made of magnetic material, or has a portion, as 0', thereof somade, and takes into the notch in the stationary bar h, and above thepawl I arrange a magnet q, the coils of which are in a branch of theelectric circuit, one end being connected to the contact which normallyrests on an insulated portion of the shipper-bar, but which is adaptedto make contact with the contacts 3 at either side of the insulatedportion. From this arrangement it will be seen that, the parts beingnormally locked and the operator moving the shipper-bar, the core of thesolenoid will pass into the coils thereof against the tendency of thesecoils to maintain the core in equilibrium between them; but as soon asthe contactt bears upon either of the contacts .9 the branch circuit iscompletcd, and a portion of the current flowing through the magnet qenergizes the same, and this raises the pawl c outof the notch in thestationary piece or bar it, and the attraction of the coils of thesolenoid causes the segmental lever to assume its normal positionbetween the coils of the solenoid, and the switch is moved then inaccordance with the movements of the shipper-bar. It will be understoodthat the operator on the car has not only to move the shipper-bar, butto overcome the tendency of the core of the solenoid to maintain itsnormal position, and this will require an extra force, which theoperator will understand from the feel of the rope to indicate that thesegmental lever, with its connecting switch controlling the motor, is inits normal position. It will thus be seen that the principles of myinvention may be embodied in various forms and arrangement of deviceswhich will suggest themselves to those skilled in the art.

WVhat I claim is 1. In an electric elevator, the combination, with anelectric motor, a switch controlling the motor, and the hand-rope forcontrolling the switch, of a locking device for the switch and meansconnected to the hand-rope for releasing the locking device,substantially as described.

2. In an electric elevator, the combination, with the electric motor,the switch controlling the motor, and a hand-rope for operating theswitch, of a locking device for temporarily holding the switch againstthe movement of the hand-rope, a spring connection betwee the switch andthe hand-rope, and devices to releasing the lock of the switch when thehandrope has moved a sufficient distance, substantially as described. V

3. In an electric elevator, the combination of the electric motor, theswitch controlling.

the motor, a lever controlling the switch, a locking device on saidlever, a hand-rope for operating the switch, a shipping-barconn ected tothe hand-rope, spring connections between the shipping-bar and lever,and means connected with the shipping-bar for releasing the lockingdevice of thelever, substantially as described.

4. In an electric elevator, the combination of the electric motor, theswitch, the lever, the spring-actuated pawl connected to the lever andforming a locking device therefor, the shipper-bar, springs interposedbetween the shipper-bar and lever, and a notch having inclined sides onthe shipping-bar to release the locking-pawl, substantially asdescribed.

5. The combination, with the electric motor,

of an electric elevator, the switch controlling the motor, and a lockingdevice therefor, of a shipper-bar, and connections between theshipper-bar whereby the bar may be moved without moving the switch, andreleasing devices operated by the shipper-bar for releasingthelockingdevices,substantially as described.

6. In an electric elevator, the combination of the switch, springs formoving the switch, means connected with the cage for compressing thesprings without moving the switch, a locking device for temporarilyholding the switch against the pressure of the springs, and means forreleasing the locking device when the springs are compressed,substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

RUDOLPH 0. SMITH.

Witnesses EDWD. K. ANDEETON, HARRY W. BARKLEY.

